Clavicus Vile & Barbas - Daedric Prince of Trickery & Bargains | The Elder Scrolls Podcast #39

[@EdStrings]

Clavicus is smart, he knows he has an addiction, so Barbas is his insurance. That way he’ll never get tricked into giving away all his power.

[@yannkam2127]

That didn't stop him from being screwed over by himself (Umbra)

[@CyberController-]

@@yannkam2127 Or Sheo tricking him into making said sword.

[@yannkam2127]

@@CyberController- yes, but umbra (himself) bamboozled Clavicus vile (also himself)

[@goldvivec1344]

@@yannkam2127 lmao

[@praserdanser5407]

@@yannkam2127 guess he didn’t give away any power

[@LordMudkipz]

"This has got to be the worst trade deal in the history of trade deals, maybe ever." -Sebastian Lort

[@TihetrisWeathersby]

Best way to start off the morning, With some Elder Scrolls lore

[@Nollic15]

This is my favorite part of Sundays.

[@ethanaguilar1206]

Or end the night

[@conski1]

Me to bro

[@ethanaguilar1206]

@D34D 3ddi3 tell me why the soundtrack for Skyrim is soooo fkn sick when you’re gone af 🤣

[@ogdenville]

I remember encountering Barbas outside Falkreath and being so surprised.

[@mythicmars4848]

I remember being like “did that dog just fucking talk”

[@rokturi]

man, i miss the first time i played skyrim

[@GlitchedMuse]

"Oh. A talking dog. I guess this might as well happen."

[@cthonicaidoneus]

@@mythicmars4848 same that was fuckin weird first time around

[@gaunterodimmmastermirrors72]

"Skyrim is host tl flying lizards, and two legged cat-men, yet your surprised by me?" *Yeah I just talked, and continuing to do so.*

[@qazwazfaz7592]

"We do a little trolling - it's called we do a little trolling." -Clavicus Vile

[@BrandonTabin]

These podcasts are great. Never stop.

[@jameswalsh2509]

I would definitely watch the videos Michael was suggesting of the Elder Scrolls books, because he’s right they seem to have such central ideas to the lore but I will probably never make time to read them

[@morrigankasa570]

I feel Clavicus Vile is a rather neutral Daedra. He symbolizes the simple policy "Be careful what you wish for."

[@George-lk5jh]

Not only has a new episode of the podcast released, but it’s covering my favorite daedric prince? Fudgemuppet you have blessed me.

[@RogueAgentKorasi]

I'm a big fan of the theory that the Bittercup stores the essence it steals from one person and uses it as the boon it gives to another while also storing that person's essence for a future trade.

[@adamthompson6669]

Oh yes here we go fam :) been refreshing KZbin in anticipation the all mighty will grace us inspire us and entertain us. You guys are seriously the best and appreciate it all. Happy Easter everyone 🐣 ❤️

[@jorgecardoso5863]

Ptsd from the last episodes made me expect "the even MORE goddamn freaking DEEP lore of elder scrolls"

[@CorvoFG]

Bout time my favourite Daedric Prince got some attention!

[@CraigArgyleAudio]

Same, Vile is criminally underrated.

[@stoutalarm8374]

Vile is awesome, wish there were more lore for him

[@thatdudefrombelgium2058]

Satan: makes curded pacts with mortals Horned boy with doggo: " Humph... amateur"

[@anozymous1]

The word you're looking for is glamer, a word often associated with magical effects like illusions.

[@laceymoseley880]

✨Glamor ✨

[@RogueAgentKorasi]

I love watching you guys bounce ideas off each other and it's really helping me through a tough time right now so thank you so much for enjoying what you do enough to post these podcasts.

[@kamikazekiwi1313]

the highlight of my sundays and the perfect end to my springbreak, love the podcasts (especially when they start getting metaphysical)

[@bewarethedankness7210]

Fav Prince :)

[@twistedjay9603]

I agree!!

[@coltonhusher3876]

I think Clavicus is the only Prince I would entertain worshipping or trying to be an acolyte in some way just because he feels to be one of the only "Fey-like" creatures in Elder Scrolls.

[@WraythSkitzofrenik]

He and Hircine seem very Fae indeed. One Seelie, the other Unseelie

[@sevenheavens-gj9qq]

Agreed. In the Lord of Souls book, it describes his realm in some detail. He was sitting at a table with hooves on the end of the table legs, that would lift and stomp every now and then.

[@SirAshford]

This podcast has become my favorite way to start off my Sunday, thanks Fudgemuppet!

[@markuswelander8551]

He should have a game show.

[@philipebanks2125]

It looks like a horned mask, but what it’s just an invisible necklace that has the power.

[@wickedcrayon6022]

I would love for Michael to make content about the books!

[@OneOnOne1162]

2:35 - I actually have my own hypothesis on why Clavicus has Barbas. It's a "good cop, bad cop" scenario. A lot of people who trick people IRL have a "wingman." Barbas is Clavicus' wingman. Like in Skyrim it SEEMS like it's Clavicus Vile against Barbas in some sense, right? But what in practice does Barbas actually do in that quest? He's the one who gets the player involved with Clavicus and in the position where he can make a deal in the first place. He's the hook that the player gets caught on so Clavicus can draw him in.

[@Priceluked]

Skyrim's design of the Masque is definitely the coolest.

[@azadisoleil6319]

He reminds me of a lighter Gaunter O Dimm. He gives you what you wish for, not what you exactly want but unlike O Dimm he isn’t going out of the way to hurt people.

[@thatscarletmoth]

With the matter of the Kothringi and the idea of immortality, a quote from Planescape: Torment springs to mind "Time is not your enemy - forever is."

[@elikukla-manning7443]

You should do a podcast or video on the underking! I can never really tell what his deal is especially with that Ysmir/Wulfharth/Talos/Zurin Acrtus stuff

[@laceymoseley880]

If I'm not mistaken ysmir is a title, wulfarth is the name Hajalti early beard chose the name Tiber septim but was a Breton by birth and the Atmorans called wulfarth Talos Stormcrown. I might be wrong tho.

[@bacd-nn2lg]

Barbas is the best companion is Skyrim. Scales up to LV 45, takes your pet slot so you can have other human companion following you, it's cute, and most importantly invisible (unless you kill him with Rueful Axe, and shame on you if you do it. But this bad weapon fits into Clavicus Vile Daedric Prince of Trickery character perfectly). The only thing that you will have problem with is Barbas constant barking, that can become annoying.

[@milobergen406]

This channel is singlehandedly keeping the es community afloat

[@mesektet5776]

I have my own theory about Clavicus's bifurcation. At first I presumed it was an intentional removal of his conscience, as it interfered with his deal efficiency and rather than outright destroying it, he bought it to life as a familiar like entity. However then i considered.... Sheogorath has won bets with all the other Daedric Princes, and as of yet, we have not found out the nature of, or consequences there of of the wager between him and Clavicus; I submit, that in-fact the whatever the wager was between Clavicus and Sheogorath Barbas is the result. A revenge scheme cooked up on the subconscious level by a Daedric Prince, who was given his own split personality - Jyggalag.

[@excommunicatedpriest8984]

Broooo you should comment this on the new Podcast :)

[@TheZeroNeonix]

Clavicus Vile's archenemy would be a lawyer. Someone who can iron out all of the loopholes of the bargain, so that the demon can't fuck them over at the end.

[@K_Kobe]

It would be cool to see a quest in es6 where there’s a small agency devoted to doing this like maybe near a shrine of clavicus vile

[@komiks42]

​@@K_KobeAnd the plot twist would be, that it is Barbas . They just mess with each other through mortals

[@echoecho3155]

So I forget where I heard it, and maybe I made it up, but I always figured Barbas was Vile's conscience. Vile forcibly removed his conscience from himself to have more freedom. This is why Barbas is generally always looking out for Vile, and also why he's a bit more amicable and less fickle than Clavicus usually is. Of course, "conscience" of a Daedra is relative. He may be Vile's conscience, but he isn't operating off normal, mortal morality.

[@godessnerd]

Best way to start my morning is with a podcast all about one of my favorite princes

[@ac3r443]

Umbra is the Mace Windu(Umbra Windu) to Clavicus's Jango Fett(Clavicus Fett) , as he keeps severing Clavicus whilst a clone of Clavicus(Barbas Fett) watches him get severed. Except in this, Mace is also a clone(Umbra Windu-Fett), Barbas Fett just pleads caution and also the situation keeps repeating itself throughout each kalpa supposedly..

[@williampope3761]

Hey fudgemuppet! The two elder scrolls books were FANTASTIC in my opinion! They definitely deserve a video of their own!

[@lokiholmes8115]

I just finished The Infernal City a few days ago and it was an alright read. However, it would be really cool if you guys did a series of videos based on the books. Dining on essences, how the people of Umbriel are “born”, the Breaking of Je’m’ath and other khajiiti ceremonies, Circumscribing One’s Realm and the limits of One’s Realm. All pretty dang cool stuff!

[@NightmareShadows13]

Everybody keeps thinking Clavicle Vile is just 'making a deal with the Devil' when, no, his deals are MUCH more like deals with the Fey. Taking the Masque back after a year and a day? Things like that are super common in Fey deals.

[@69inetails]

I think tht only because he "tempts" mortals with deals tht are skewed..

[@sindurwavesismaturf]

I always thought Barbas defying Vile was just him putting up an act to mess with your mind and judgment and its all according to Vile's plans. For example in Oblivion, Vile would want you to hold on to Umbra so it takes over your personality as well so Barbas fucks with you by telling you not to return it and Vile pretends to be angry when you refuse so you believe you outsmarted him but you have actually done exactly what he wanted from you. Same with Skyrim where he may be pretending that his power is confined to a shrine and all you get for murdering a dog in cold blood is an axe which isnt even that powerful

[@blacksunserpent]

Additionally, choosing the last two options will have him continue, "As much as I hate to say it, you're almost as powerful as I am right now. But that's just because half of my power resides in that mutt, Barbas. Come to think of it, I know of a win-win situation for both of us." Dialogue in Skyrim confirms that the power halved between Barbas and Vile. I recalled that coz played trough quest few days prior.

[@Just_Another_Gravemind]

I like to imagine Clavicus sitting at some desk recording who has what artifact when, which ones he can still give at the moment and then micromanaging his artifacts

[@level1dodo896]

It sounds like what ever the entity that split itself into clavicus and barbas was really powerful in "daedra" scale terms. Maybe it did so to save itself from becoming fully crazy like how clavicus is

[@AnradTheUnvaxxed]

🤔 Perhaps Vile feared the others would 'change' him if he got too powerful, the same way they 'changed' Jyggalag(God of Order) into the bumbling fool Sheogorath(God of Madness). Perhaps he changed himself(divided his power) to avoid such a fate.

[@NamelessKing1597]

Barbus sort of represents the idea of the human conscience. While it is a part of yourself it's not one that you necessarily have control of, your subconscious (barbas) will continue to nag at you weather or not you want it to but your conscious self (clavicis) still makes the final decision. Barbas is the Jimminy Cricket to Clavicus' Pinocchio.

[@berilsevvalbekret772]

Yes! A lore video from FudgeMuppet about my favorute prince and dog! Love you guys.

[@seanstacks3436]

It would be awesome to have Michael read some of the longer Elder Scrolls books.

[@ciaranmck4469]

They never will because at some point they will have to do the 36 lessons of vivec and that's kinda a channel meme so they probably won't do it

[@JohannMello]

Drew has Athelstan voice from the series Vikings

[@0lAllan]

Based on my limited interaction with the characters in Skyrim (I haven't played Oblivion nearly as much and haven't done his quest in Oblivion yet). I read some of the ingame lore on daedra. To keep this from getting too longwinded . . . considering his character regret is an important aspect of his being. Perhaps Barbas exist as a consequence of his own regrets. By pouring part of himself, the rueful aspect of his sphere, is a means for the master to act without guilt because Barbas deals with it. So Barbas sort of becomes his guilty conscience. In anycase when it comes to dealing with Vile make your pacts with the slave not the master.

[@jaxsonwilliams1458]

Playing skyrim for the 83638363 playing the podcast in the background has been so great.

[@DuskyPredator]

With the deals he takes back, I tend to see them as ones that nothing was offered in return. As a player you tend do something for him.

[@jextra1313]

The word glamour comes to English from Scots, the English language as spoken in Scotland. In the early 1700s, the Scottish altered the English word grammar to create glamer or glamour; it meant "a magic spell." Although grammar itself was not used in this sense, the Latin word grammatica (from which it derives) was often used in the Middle Ages to mean ‘scholarship, learning’, including the occult practices popularly associated with learning...

[@aqua1439]

Michael: 'you'll just end up floating in space' My brain: Kars!!!

[@alikutul]

Kars went nigerundayo

[@timberwolfdan5910]

You guys mentioned the inspiration for the masque of clavicus vile was Jim Careys The Mask. I just noticed the mask in the movie was Loki's mask and the Mask of Vile has the Loki horns.

[@ErnestoCifer]

Don't forget Umbra

[@gerbenvanegmond4007]

Regarding Sebastian Lort: you don't have to kill him according to the quest. You can take the Rueful axe and just leave Sebastian alive

[@Lcgx]

Seeing the faces of FudgeMuppet make me extremely happy 😊

[@shayed_6668]

That king Henry mask is in eso

[@Etticos.]

Can you guys do a video on the real life inspirations behind Daedric artifacts?? Also Scott, don’t feel bad, I found the glamour/grammar thing super interesting too.

[@jaredpearce4244]

@FudgeMuppet So the UESP wiki of the story of Avalea, which you read in this episode, states the following: "Though the Masque did not change her looks, suddenly she had the respect and admiration of everyone." It actually doesn't mention anything about people seeing 'what's beautiful to them', just the effect of respect/admiration.

[@Agentlefox]

I tend to think of Clavivus Vile as having crystallized when Lorkhan approached the other et' ada to make Nirn and the wheel. It was a good deal until it wasn't and then the convention happened, the first moment of regret. Like many forces, Clavicle vile as he is now wouldn't be able to become fully realized until Lorkhans "death" released the various forces and limitations he was effectively mantling. There is also the idea that et' ada lacked a consistent physical form, like their offspring the elnohfey, and maybe Lorkhans many shapes included forms like Boethiah and Clavicus vile. I dont know if I follow that idea necessarily, but its interesting to consider Lorkhan as a sort of pandoras box because his soul is the sum of all limitations.

[@masankanava]

The sincerity of Drewtales...

[@pentagonalfinch6147]

Elder scrolls lore is always so fun good job guys keep it up

[@GamingYooler]

I would love to see the Fields of Regret in an Elder Scrolls game some day.

[@ciaranmck4469]

It is in a elder scrolls game

[@dadshirt6681]

It is...

[@nicholasharju5616]

Podcast on the lusty argonian maid😳

[@kingwashington4044]

I'm an elder scrolls fan. I am very familiar with the fourth era and third era. I do not know much compared to you guys. Isn't it possible that the dragonborn defeating Alduin cause another Dragon break? Alduin's purpose was to end in the world so the new world can begin a new. This is my theory and I would love for you guys to debunk it or provide more evidence for it. Alduin's purpose was to end the world. Not as a evil super villain but just as a genuine force of nature. To end this cycle so the new one can begin. I believe that the dragonborn defeating alduin and not taking his soul cause another Dragon break. Alduin and other dragons call Alduin the first born of akatosh. Alcatosh is the Divine associated with time. Alduin may have some time power that we are not fully aware of as the dragonborn.Alduin is only three dragons that we face in the game that the dragonborn doesn't collect their soul. The other two is the Skeleton dragon and Durnehviir. Because we literally rip Alduin in half cuz that start another Dragon break. Not as severe as the previous Dragon breaks. But significant enough that it changes tamriel significantly. People have memories of the stormcloaks winning. People have memories of the empire taking full control of Skyrim again. People have memories of hammerfell being a successful independent state. Some people have memories and evidence that the thalmor is the true leaders of hammerfell. If a dragon break did happen the thalmore can lie their ass off in a way where they benefit the most from it. I think I have a solid theory and I would really appreciate if this gets debunked or there's genuine weight behind it

[@ciaranmck4469]

1st one we have absolutely no idea I doubt it but knowing Bethesda they will probably say that a dragonbreak happend so they don't have to put in effort from the choices we made For the 2nd one that's literally a fact they say that in the game The reason why we didn't take his soul is that alduin has to destroy the world and start a new kalpa, if we kill alduin that can't happen and the cycle will be broken which as we know can't happen Also the way I look at it is alduin isn't the 1st born of akatosh he is not below akatosh from the nordic pantheon alduin in the chief deity and the 'time god' fudgemuppet mentioned this and what they said was auri-el is like the rising sun akatosh is the midday sun and alduin is the sunset they're all the same coin but different sides

[@victoriousf.i.g.3311]

@@ciaranmck4469 I always assumed we didn't take his soul because he's not technically a dragon. Alduin is a shapeshifter that has taken many forms, he just happened to use the form of a dragon during the events of Skyrim. With him only having the form of a dragon but not being an actual dragon, we couldn't absorb his soul. Think kind of like Durnehviir, when we kill him, his soul escapes and his body is reconstituted due to his contract with the Ideal Masters. Similarly, when Alduin's chosen form is defeated, his soul or essence or whatever probably returns to his home plane to create a new body for himself.

[@chorg1311]

I don't know about you guys but I wanna hear more about grammar/glamour. Full episode on the topic when?

[@BP-dn9nv]

I think part of the reason he has Barbas is specifically to warn mortals not to make deals with him. This is kind of a balance to claim that his deals aren't unfair, as they were warned what could happen.

[@Mary_Beth_Reimer]

Thank you! ❤️💜💙 Happy Easter to the other side of the world. 🐇

[@RecordedMercury]

Clavicle Vile: The Art of The Deal

[@josecolon7267]

[@Oorlich95]

Thought maybe we weren't getting one this week. Glad to see you fellas.

[@bobakett5613]

You guys have helped me out so much the past year through your content. When my entire life fell apart, I always had your videos to look forward to. Thank you. By far my favourite channel.

[@coltonhusher3876]

28:37 Drew you really saw Camel's face in all actuality

[@nannernan7167]

This is the best. I feel oneness from these videos

[@morganstuart8798]

With the implementation of memory loss in an elder scrolls game, it could delete logs from you quest log.

[@Bleachigo162]

In the Skyrim quest clavicle vile was saying that because he was missing barbas he was around half power

[@phoniexcrow6520]

A clear gemini daedric prince here😆😆 Trickery,Two entities, and conversation and of course two faced

[@kablooey7304]

Yes ty bruddas of the scrolls

[@eleasarreyes4994]

Hung over but I atleast got this to listen to today lmao

[@arcticdragon3565]

Man, they should have another studio remake Redguard in HD

[@BR-bn1mz]

Barbas is his other half in a deal; for the Prince to truly encompass a deal he must be winner and loser, hence Vile as the ‘winning’, tricking and domineering pact-maker and Barbas as the more empathetic, submissive loser of the deal. If Molag Bol may be the prince of the act of domination, then Vile is the prince of trade domination whereas Barbas is the prince of trade submissive, allowing the two-headed prince to truly encompass all aspects of a deal.

[@denmark_2172]

Being only 10~ish minutes into the video, I’d like to take this opportunity to share my tinfoil hat theory on the Prince of Pacts: Plain and simple: Barbas is actually a cruel and malicious devil of a dog. Point 1) he just seems to nice and innocent (and appearing as a dog is just icing on the cake). Especially in Skyrim, he’s just so forthcoming and helpful, it seems a little suspicious. But whatever. Maybe it’s just the duality of the prince, right? Point 2) in Oblivion and Skyrim, you’re asked to retrieve a powerful weapon from someone that isn’t using it. Reason seems to be when Vile makes an artifact, it weakens him to a degree and he wants to be whole. So you get the item but Barbas convinces you to keep it instead. But why? What is Vile going to do with slightly more power? And what is that to a god? It seems to me that this item isn’t sowing chaos (Umbra is locked in a ruin, Sebastian is hiding in a cave) but by keeping it, he’s almost ensuring you’ll take this weapon and be corrupted by it. Point 3) to double back on point 2, if Barbas is so concerned with the power of these artifacts, wouldn’t he want you to NOT retrieve them? Like I mentioned, they’re locked away and not being used. What’s the point of getting them, bringing them all the way back to the shrine, then saying ‘now that you have this super weapon, don’t give it back to Vile; he’ll do bad things with it. It’s be much safer in your hands?’ Tl;dr Barbas is an adorable manipulator out to make sure you sow chaos instead of returning a dangerous artifact to Oblivion.

[@imdontaisrighteye7973]

Drew’s beard is impeccable

[@mgallogical7114]

he takes advantaged of the stupid/ignorant/greedy and respects the smart/cautious/humble

[@AnradTheUnvaxxed]

Funny that, stupid/ignorant/greedy better describes Vile's character than smart/cautious/humble. Barbas is the more smart/cautious/humble one.

[@aveasatru9815]

Happy Easter y’all.

[@twistedjay9603]

3 minutes and I’m here for my favorite prince 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️ let’s go!

[@williamclose6978]

I always thought of Barbas as the weaker side of Clavicus Vile, but he is the only one that has the ability to choose to separate/return.

[@ptownspazz7587]

Barbus was the dominant personality. But that's how tricky Clavicus was. Somehow he "tricked" Barbus into giving him an extra 10% when they first split.

[@TheInquisitiveMug]

First time checking out a podcast segment and it's great! You guys juggle the rhythm very well, I'm gonna check out some back episide!

[@gugg2216]

That raven rock music is kicking hard

[@scarletbard6511]

I know this is a bit late, but I'd love to see a Dagoth Ur episode. Or maybe have a few episodes discussing the major NPCs of every game. I'd be very interested in that. Either way, love the content.

[@evancondon1372]

Clavicus vile has caused so many problems, he truly is very irresponsible. But that’s what makes him so damn cool.

[@teawrecks4140]

🤔 not sure if it is related to the Glamour stuff.. but there is a village in Scotland called Glamis near Dundee.. 🤷‍♀️

[@tatwood93]

TREVOR Looks like Cyrus from Elder Scrolls Redguard. 39:28

[@Lojeb44]

Michael I would love any video series for the two novels, I've read both and they're fantastic pieces of lore

[@mugster_69]

will skyrim (and hopefully but im not sure) oblivion builds come back some day? I really enjoyed that series and hope it returns.

[@DrCawfee669]

Hope they didnt get burned out from doing builds

[@mugster_69]

@@DrCawfee669 i hope so, i really enjoyed that series, even helped me write a couple of builds that i played, lots of fun.

[@markmikolay9019]

He a good boi

[@Salad_Pickle]

I think the charisma affecting enchantment is more world altering than localized charming.. a painting would probably portray her if she was gorgeous and the like. Kind of like the gray fox and his cowl?

[@dingle1563]

Love the content as always. Keep up the good work guys😁

[@veldrensavoth7119]

Sooo yes to videos on the books...that’d be great

[@vermillionaltair9146]

More on the masque; If she keeps it on 24/7 how the hell does she eat. Especially when it comes to banquets and the like where she'd be expected to do so publicly